


Young At Heart

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [16]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 22:58:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4805342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	Young At Heart

"How's the ribs?" Mulder asks, returning from the door with a large pizza box in his hands and setting it on the coffee table. 

"Better," Scully sighs, stretching out and making herself comfortable on his couch. "I can almost take a deep breath without it feeling like someone's stabbing me."

"Well that's progress," he allows before disappearing into the kitchen. He had intended to grab plates and cutlery, but of the three plates he owns, only one was clean. And not having plates makes the cutlery a little useless. After a quick search for napkins turns up nothing, he remembers why they usually eat at Scully's place. Mulder settles for a couple of paper towels and returns to the living room.

He finds Scully with her eyes closed, her left leg out along the length of the couch and her hands clasped low on her abdomen. She hasn't missed a day of work after being shot, but he knows she's been in pain. The bullet proof vest she was wearing thankfully did it's job and stopped the bullet. While the vest did absorb some of the impact, the fact remains that John Barnett shot her with a decent caliber bullet; and given her size, she might as well have been hit by a car. 

Confident she is sleeping, Mulder sits on the edge of the coffee table, examining her more closely. He reaches out a hand and gently presses on the left side of her ribs, just under her breast. Scully's eyes fly open and she winces, doing her best to turn away from his touch.

"Sorry," he quickly apologizes, holding his hands up. "I was just checking."

"Well, I'll thank you not to," she sighs, sitting up. "Especially since I actually got hit here," she explains, placing a hand on the left side of her chest, but not exactly on her breast.

Mulder actually blushes a little. "Sorry...you said it was your ribs before."

"Yeah, they're under there. The pain kind of radiates out from that spot. But it is getting better."

"I promise I'll stop poking at you, all the same."

"Thanks," Scully grins.

He hands her a paper towel. "Sorry, I'm running low on plates," he explains.

"I told you we should have eaten at my place," she complains, earning a laugh from Mulder as he sits beside her on the couch.

"You hear anything from your friend? The cello player?" Mulder asks around a mouthful of pizza.

"I called her this morning," Scully begins, taking a piece of pizza but not eating it yet. "She was pretty shaken up about being held at gunpoint by Barnett."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Mulder gets up and heads into the kitchen.

"I don't think I'll be invited to any more of her cello recitals," she calls after him, taking a bite of her dinner.

He returns a moment later with a beer in each hand. "And that's a bad thing?" he asks, opening both beers and handing one to Scully.

She raises an eyebrow at him, trying to hide her amusement. After taking a swig of her beer she adds, "This job seems to be working against that life I was trying to have."

Mulder nods, eyeing Scully to see if she's joking or actually upset. "They didn't warn you of that when you signed up?"

"I guess I missed that part in the fine print," she says flatly, but he can see the corners of her mouth turn up a little.

"Well," he sighs, "if it'll make you feel any better, I can learn to play the cello."

Scully laughs before she can stop herself, and immediately grabs her side as a sharp pain shoots through it. "Oww, don't make me laugh," she manages, still giggling.


End file.
